9.3 Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination Do you think most people are prejudiced or do you believe that most people are free from prejudice? What are some prejudices that don’t involve race or ethnicity? Prejudice: widely held negative attitudes toward a group (minority or majority) and its individual members. Racism: Is an extreme form of prejudice that assumes superiority of one group over others. Prejudice involves a generalization based on biased or insufficient information. Prejudiced attitudes are based on strong emotions, so the are often difficult to exchange. “Asians are good at Math.” If I sit next to an Asian student that is not doing well in Math will I change my idea I have about Asians? Probably not – just think of them as an exception to the rule. Self-Filfilling Prophecy- an expectation that leads to behavior that causes the expectation to become reality.

Hate Crimes: A criminal act motivated by prejudice. Discrimination: treating people differently based on ethnicity, race, religion or culture. How is discrimination different from prejudice? Hate Crimes: A criminal act motivated by prejudice. Stereotype: a distorted, exaggerated, or oversimplified image applied to a category of people. Prejudice involves holding biased opinions, discrimination involves acting upon those opinions by treating people unfairly.

If children continually hear parents malign a minority group, they will reject all members of the group, on all counts and in all situations. Language itself can reflect prejudices: blackball, blacklist Self-fulfilling prophecy: an expectation that leads to behavior that causes the expectation to become reality. Whitelist: people accepted into a group